A pet calendar as a Christmas gift

When should you order a pet calendar for Christmas?

Order the digital version any time, since it arrives by email within minutes. For a printed calendar, order by early December to be safe. Printing and shipping take time, and December is the busiest period for every print and courier network.

The honest answer is that the digital version removes the deadline entirely. It arrives in minutes, which means a pet calendar also works as the gift you organise on the twenty-third of December without anyone knowing.

What do you need from the recipient?

One clear photo of their pet, which you almost certainly already have. You do not need their address for the digital version, or any warning that would spoil the surprise.

This is the part that makes it a good surprise gift. Most personalised presents require you to ask the recipient something, which tips them off. A photo of their pet is usually already on your phone, or in a message they sent you. And if the perfect one is not, a single text gets it: "send me that photo of Biscuit, it made me laugh" tips nobody off.

• A photo where the pet's face is clear and well lit works best. See how to choose photos for a pet calendar for what to look for.
• A photo that has been through screenshots or messaging apps has lost some fur detail on the way. When they send one, the original picture beats a forward, and it makes a visible difference in the artwork.
• You can generate a free preview before paying, so you can check the likeness before committing.

How do you give a digital calendar as a present?

Print the first month and wrap that, or print the PDF and have it bound at a local print shop. A single printed page in a frame, with the rest of the year arriving by email, gives the recipient something to open.

A digital gift is harder to hand over on the day. Three approaches that work:

1. Print one month and frame it. January is the obvious choice. It gives them something physical, and the other eleven months are already in their inbox.
2. Order the printed calendar. Where we ship, this is the simplest option and it arrives ready to hang.
3. Print the PDF and have it bound. Most high street print shops will spiral bind twelve pages while you wait, for very little.

Who is a pet calendar a good gift for?

It suits the person who is hard to buy for because they already own everything, and anyone whose pet is the centre of the household. It also works as a memorial gift, where it turns a small number of surviving photos into a full year.

The reason it lands is that it is used. A candle gets burned once and a jumper goes in a drawer, but a calendar is looked at every day for a year, and the person looking at it is looking at their own pet.

Common questions